You Belong To Me
by HeyBabyRun
Summary: One day, you wake up and find out that you're life will change. Turns out, some things change, but it's still high school. Faberry. D/s themes. AU.
1. Chapter 1

"You belong to me."

She grabs my hair tightly and forces me to look up and meet her eyes. I whimper, my throat constricting at the angle and at the rough sound of her voice.

"Mine."

Her nails dig into my skin, not hard enough to break, but rough enough to remind me that I'm hers.

"Got it?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good."

She smiles down at me, and lets go of my hair before kneeling down to my level.

"You okay?" she whispers, gently reaching up to knead the tender skin.

"'m fine."

She nods, standing up again before snapping her fingers and turning around to walk out the open bedroom door. I follow obediently, remembering to stand up when I get to the doorway instead of crawling on the wood floors in the hallway.

"Good girl." She praises me from the other end of the hallway before snapping her fingers again. I grin, trying to hold myself back from skipping to her and instead walking quickly and almost kneeling down in front of her before a sharp 'No' reaches my ears.

I pause, and straighten up quickly, keeping my eyes looking at the ground. She hums, thinking.

"Better than yesterday," She says, reaching out to grab my chin and looking me in the eyes. "But, you still need to learn."

I nod, knowing she wants my consent, and then follow her down the stairs after she snaps her fingers.

"We're going out today. I want you to be ready by noon, okay?"

She looks up from the breakfast she's cooking to catch my eye and making sure I nod .

"Then, we're going to Puck's tonight," She turns around, completely ignoring the food so she can make sure I understand her next sentence. "You will stay by my side the entire time. I will get you your food and drinks. I don't want you around that Franken-freak again."

"Yes, Master."

She stares at me for a second more before returning to the food she's preparing. I sit in silence and watch her cook, not really thinking about anything except picturing all the places she might take me today.

"Here," she gently sets a plate down in front of me. "I'm not sure how it'll taste, considering I made it vegan-friendly, but, I tried."

I grin, fully aware at how thoughtful that was of her, considering all the stories I've heard from the forums of Vegan-Subs where many others were forced to eat meat, eggs, milk, and every other type of food that went against everything they stood for.

But, then again, there weren't many things Subs could keep after finding their Master; many would be forced to change their lifestyles, or forced to leave their families and moved off to different states entirely, or, even being re-marked and sold out to the murkiness that comes with the Market.

"Eat."

I comply, knowing she wouldn't let me leave the table until she saw me eat.

"These are delicious." I want to roll on the ground from the pure deliciousness that I taste, and instead settle for completely stuffing my face for the next ten minutes.

Faintly, I hear her laugh and eat her own plate.

"It's eleven," she says, setting her plate in the sink before making her way upstairs.

I quickly grab my plate and move to the sink to wash the dishes. I finish twenty minutes later, quickly drying my hands on the hand-towel hanging off the stove and dashing upstairs to start getting ready.

* * *

><p>It was something else when I had woken up one day and found her name sitting on the inside of my right wrist. I had nearly cried when I had to inform my father's, and I actually <em>did<em> cry when they allowed me to spend the day at home alone instead of facing school.

I'm not even sure what I was expecting.

I knew that this day would come. Only, I suppose I _had_ been expecting to be a Master and not a Sub. I will also guess that I wouldn't have cried as much had the name inside my wrist been **Finn Hudson** and not **Quinn Fabray**.

When I finally had gotten through the tears and had time to think about everything, I steeled myself for what was going to come when I got there. Of course, thinking about all the horrible things that Masters have done to their Subs at school _almost_ made me turn around and walk back home.

Now, don't get me wrong. There are many Masters and Subs at school who are completely respecting of each other and it's obvious that they are perfect together. However, like many things, the _worst_ Master and Sub relationships come to mind when I start to think about it.

Sometimes, there are Subs who get their names of a mysterious stranger, but, more often, there are ones who get the names of those whom they already know. The system works- it's strange, yes- but, overall, it does work out in the end for everyone, which gave me much-needed hope.

What they teach us in school is that after the child is born, they are given a shot of some kind of drug called 'Stericloryph', which is then kept dormant for approximately 17 years. From what I gathered in Health class (when they actually managed to find someone to teach it, that is), it's just a drug that will mix with all the chemicals and cells in your body, and is also affected by what you think and your natural instincts. After so many years, it will match you with that one person whom you are traditionally tied to for the rest of your life (I'm not exactly sure when the whole 'Right wrist means you're looking for your Master, left means your Sub' rule came up, but it stuck).

Of course, the whole thing is affected by interacting with other people; which basically means, the drug they inject you with will be affected by someone you may never talk to, but come within close range of. I could have easily walked by my future Master or Sub in the mall, or maybe even jogged by them on the street.

With no say over who I want to lead me, I could only simply keep my head down and pray that my life with Quinn wouldn't be as terrible as those shown to me by the ones at school.

* * *

><p>"You need a collar."<p>

Her voice is nervous, I notice. She reaches out and pulls me closer to her body as we walk further into the mall. I glance around and try to see what she's seeing, but only notice a few kids pretending to push each other into the indoor-fountain.

"C'mon."

Tugging me behind her, I follow quickly until we reach a store called Damien's Designs. It's dark inside, with music from some obscure band playing a little too loud, and has a few people inside of it already.

"May I help you?" The Voice comes up behind us and I immediately move to get behind her. Stepping in front of me, she begins to converse with the Voice. She follows him and snaps her fingers. We step into the back room that was hidden behind a black curtain and greeted with the sight of a man holding up different colored collars to a younger woman and allowing the other man, who I figured to be her Master, to choose.

"I'm not sure," his voice is deep and soothing, and it noticeably calms the girl down. "I'm thinking the brown one."

"Yes, good choice, sir." The workers voice is disgusting. I can't stand it.

"Come." I hear her voice in my ear and obediently follow her and the Voice towards the other side of the room. I don't pay attention to what they're saying and instead focus on collars he's showing her.

I try to peek around her shoulder, but she smiles and moves to bring me to her side.

"I think we can handle it from here, thanks." She smiles at the Voice, who nods and slides back out through the curtain.

"Do you like any of them?" she asks, quietly.

I nod, and reach out, stopping and moving again when she nods.

"This one."

I bit my lip, feeling the softness of the lining and the smoothness of the outer part. It has a small buckle, and a loop for the tags that I know we're going to be getting next week.

"I like it, too." She smiles, taking it from my hand and turning around to face the worker who had just waved the other couple out the door.

"How much for this one?"

"Koskin, blue, silver buckle," he examines it before handing it back to her. "Twenty-five, unless you want anything engraved."

"No engravings, yet. Just this."

He takes it from her hand and wraps it carefully in a small bag before saying other words that I don't pay attention to.

I follow her through the curtain and back out to the main room, the thumping of the bass makes me want to run.

Soon, we're back outside where the kids have long-gone left the fountain. She pulls me to the bench and I sit down on the ground, nervously.

"Good girl."

She looks around, nervously, until she sees that no one is around. Pulling the bag open, she reaches inside and pulls out the collar.

"I know you probably don't want to wear this, and I wouldn't force you to if it weren't for the law," She sighs, "But, you're mine, remember?"

I nod, leaning into her touch as she starts to rub the back of neck soothingly.

"Mine."

She slides away from me and crouches down, much like she had done this morning, before unbuckling the collar and moving my hair out of the way. She buckles it, making sure I have plenty of room to breathe, but also tight enough for others to still see.

"Got it?"

"Yes, Master."

I smile, reaching up to feel the softness and smoothness.

"Good."

She quickly looks around again before leaning in to kiss my cheek. I blush at the contact, not nearly as ready for the physical-ness that is sure to come now that I have been marked. Knowing what I'm thinking, she nods and I know that she sure as hell isn't ready to take that step either. I smile again as she pulls me into her side and lets me hug her.

"You okay?"

"Yes, Master."

"C'mon." She lets go of me and pulls me up with her before tugging me to the part of the mall where a majority of the people are. I recognize a few of the people there, but don't have a chance to wave at them because I'm suddenly wrapped in two pairs of arms.

"Our baby!"

I laugh, immediately knowing whose voice that is.

"Daddy! Dad!" I hug them tighter, "What are you guys doing here?" I pull back to look at them both and catch the look that they share with each other.

"Quinn asked us if we wanted to come and see you." Daddy grins, looking over at a blushing Quinn who had been standing off to the side during our hugging.

"She told us that she was taking you to get your collar today," Dad says, pulling my blouse out of the way to get a better look at it. "We just wanted to make sure it looked as great as our baby girl."

I blush and roll my eyes before grinning at Quinn.

"Also, I was thinking about the four of us getting together for brunch tomorrow to discuss everything?" Dad directs the question to Quinn who frowns before nodding.

"It was so good seeing you, baby girl." Daddy says, pulling me in for another hug as we stand in the mall's parking lot.

"You'll see me tomorrow, Daddy." I say, though it's muffled since I'm still pressed tightly against his chest.

"I know, but, still." I laugh, pulling away. "You're such a drama king."

He huffs indignantly before smiling and letting me hug Dad. The two of them say goodbye to me and Quinn before waving as we walk in the opposite direction towards her car.

"Thank you." I say, moving to walk closer to her.

"I'll take care of you." Is all she says before pulling me closer to her side and opening to the door for me to climb in.

I sit back in the warm, comfy seat of the car before letting my thoughts drift. She turns the radio on before backing out of the spot and turning towards home, and we sit in silence.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>Felt like saving the author's note for the bottom; So, this is completely AU- I have VERY limited knowledge about BDSM or Dom/Sub or Dub/Con or anything. So, on that note, please, don't think of me as someone who is disrespectful or completely unintelligent. I do recognize that I don't have any knowledge concerning that lifestyle, but I this is an AU, and I hope that people can just roll with this.

I'm sorry that it changes rhythms so many times; I have a horrible habit of writing my thoughts as they come and that leads to me having horrible changes in terms of tenses. Does that make sense? Probably not.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything Glee-related or anything like that. If I was, I probably wouldn't tell you, anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **So, this is being updated because I actually receieved a PM asking me if I was going to update. (: That was what sort of got me writing. Anyways, horrible editing done by myself- OH, and I bumped this up to a **T** rating because I didn't realize it was K or K+.

**Thanks to:** darkandtwisty22, Fate-187, KW Jordan, EAnIL, Lcrazemag, and the anonymous/lazy, faberrydragon. Your lovely reviews make me smile and realize things and I am extremely thankful for your suggestions. **Also**, to the many people who have put this story on their favorites/storyalerts. Thanks, guys.

Any other suggestions are most definitely welcome, and I'll mostly likely use them in later chapters.

Writing about Master/Slave or Dom/Sub relationships are tricky, yes? So, instead, I'm creating this whole new world that has some things that are akin to it. By that, I mean, take all the knowledge you know about them, or read about them, or anything like that, and toss them out the door for this fic, if you can.

There are quite a few things that may not make sense, and I'm not good at continuity. However, I am a bit better at it than Glee seems to be, at times. Please, feel free to point out any sentences that don't make sense or completely horrible spelling errors. /longauthornote.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Warnings:** Just some 'bad' words, in this chapter.

* * *

><p>We pull up in the driveway of Noah's house when the sun is just about to set. She cuts the engine before turning in her seat to properly face me.<p>

"Remember what I said."

I nod and watch as she turns and gets out of the car before coming around to my side and opening the door.

Once I'm outside, I can hear the steady thumping of bass that is faintly coming from his house. Quietly, I walk a few steps behind her and stop when we get to the door. She knocks and Noah answers a few seconds later.

"'bout time you showed up." He grins, gesturing for us to come in.

She steps to the side to let me go inside first, before following close behind. When I stop, I feel her body press into mine before she starts tugging at my coat. Sliding it off, I hand it to her outstretched hand before peeking around the corner where the music seems to be coming from.

She snaps and, before I can fully process what I'm seeing, I'm standing directly behind her again.

Noah eyes us, smiling faintly before saying "I guess it does make sense."

"Is he here?" she demands, her tone almost makes me tense up until I remind myself that she's talking to Noah.

"Yeah," Noah says before motioning for us to follow him farther into the house.

It's not much, which she had known it would be. The entire Glee club is here, sitting on the various pieces of furniture and talking loudly to hear each other over the music. I tense up when she leads us past where Finn, Santana, and Brittany are sitting and relax a little when she bypasses them and chooses to sit in the vacant chair beside Kurt and Tina. I smile at them when they turn to greet us before moving to sit down at her feet.

I stop when she snaps her fingers and look up at her.

"Up."

I straighten up before she slides over to give me room with her on the chair and patting the space next to her.

Shyly, I reach up and tuck a stray hair behind my ear before sitting down next to her.

"Looks like you guys are figuring things out already." Tina smiles, "It took me and Mike much longer to even begin figuring things out."

I smile before looking at her. She nods and I start talking non-stop to the two of them until she stands up and says she'll be right back.

"So, how is everything with Quinn?" Kurt leans forward in his seat, his face smiling knowingly.

"Everything is going pretty, well," I glance over at her across the room. "amazingly. We had a few rough patches in the beginning, but, I've been trying to just make everything work these past couple weeks. We sat down and got our rules figured out, and now, we're just trying to get used to living together."

"That's probably the hardest thing," Tina says, nodding knowingly. "When Mike and I were marked, I had to quit eating peanut butter, and I'm pretty sure I almost died."

We laughed, before we heard the music being turned down and Noah started talking.

"Now that all of you are here at my del taco, we need to figure out what we're going to do about the whole Jesse St. Jerk problem."

I can feel everyone's eyes glance at me before turning back to Noah. Dropping my gaze to my hands, I can feel tears start to burn behind my eyes. She's there before I even realized it; kneeling down and reaching for my hands. Everyone's attention is fixed on Noah, who is now saying that we should all head over to check out the competition. I'm not paying attention as the conversation continues on to outbursts over 'spying' and 'cheating'.

She pulls me up and turns me before sitting me down on the arm of the chair, facing away from everyone.

"Hey," She says, tugging slightly on my hands to get my attention. "No crying, please?"

I nod and take a few deep breaths until she tugs at my hands again.

"Look at me."

I drag my eyes up to meet hers before she reaches up to rest her hand on the side of my neck.

"Nobody hurts what's mine." She says, waiting for me to nod.

"C'mon."

When she and I stand, I notice that everyone is starting to make their way towards the front door and hear Kurt mumbling something about 'Dalton'. Noah holds the front door open and calling out above the mumbling.

"Kurt and Santana's rides are going to Dalton," He shoves Sam when Sam says something when he passes Noah. "Finn and Mike's rides are going to see Vocal Adrenaline."

"Follow Brittany." She says, pushing me lightly towards the open door. I walk outside and move to follow Brittany until I hear the faint sound of a vase shattering into a thousand pieces from inside the house.

"What the hell, Quinn! My mom's going to flip a shit when she sees that." Noah's voice is angry and I don't get a chance to hear her reply because I'm being pulled along by the arm by Brittany.

"Quinn said you're riding with us, Rachel." She grins, opening the back door for me to slide inside next to Sam. He smiles genuinely at me until we hear Santana opening the driver side door and her angry voice speaking swiftly in Spanish.

"I no say pa." Brittany says to the fuming brunette. Thankfully, Santana stopped her ranting before looking at the blonde who was buckling her seat belt in the passenger seat.

"What?"

"I no say pa, San. It's French."

"I think it's 'Je ne sais pas', Brittany." I offer, wondering where the girl could have even picked up that word.

"That's what I said. I no say pa."

"Je ne sais pas, love." Santana shakes her head before turning on the car.

"Yeah, Gee-no-pa-day."

"Je ne sais pas." Sam offers, "Je ne sais pas."

"That's what I'm saying." Brittany is frowning now, looking over at Santana and glancing back at me. "Nay-say-de-pay."

"No, repeat after me," Sam says, scooting forward in his seat to talk to Brittany.

I suddenly notice through the front window that she is arguing on the doorsteps of Noah's house with Noah.

When he steps towards her, I'm quickly opening up the car door and slamming it shut before making my way towards her.

She must have heard the slamming the door because she turns to face me when I'm half way up the lawn.

"Stay."

It's a command and her tone is sharp- I come to a sudden stop and bit my lip when she turns back around.

I bounce on the balls of my feet, wondering if I should go forward or stay.

"Just make sure you don't even _think_ about doing it again."

"It was an accident, Q."

"I don't care. Accident or not, think before you say something in front of me. Got it, Puckerman?"

He rolls his eyes before shutting the front door and brushing past her and towards Mike's mom's car.

When she finally gets to my side, I notice that I'm shaking slightly. She grabs my shoulders and turns me to face her.

"I'm here, okay?"

I nod, breathing deeply.

"C'mon."

I follow her, she leads me to Santana's car and opens the door for me. I slid in until I'm sitting in the middle between her and Sam. She snaps her fingers and tugs on my arm until I'm sitting in her lap. She pulls my head down, resting it on her chest before answering Santana's questions.

Listening to the sounds in her chest when she speaks manages to calm me down. I'm ready to fall asleep until I feel the car start to slow down and turn. Lifting my head up, I look through the front window and we're pulling into a nearly full parking in front of a rather large, old-looking building. Santana pulls into a parking spot before cutting the engine.

"Where'd they park?"

"I think that's them over there." Brittany points to the people walking towards them.

I feel her begin to slide me off her lap and whimper before she shushes me.

"One way to find out. Let's go."

We all clamber out of the car into the cool air.

"There you guys are." Kurt says, quickly walking over and leading the group. "I think their performance just started, so we'll need to sneak in."

Following her, we end up walking the well-lit hallways of the building until we hear the faint sound of music and singing.

Stopping in a doorway, Kurt and Brittany peak through the doors before motioning for us to go inside; it's a large auditorium, with a majority of the seats already filled. On the stage, there's a group of well-dressed people dancing and singing. I watch in slight awe as they move in perfect harmony. I tear my gaze away when I hear a faint snap to my left.

"Holy Mary." Kurt whispers as he sits down on my right.

* * *

><p>"Thank you all for coming out tonight, ladies and gentlemen. We'd like to finish this performance with one of <em>our<em> favorite songs. We hope to see you all at Sectionals next month!" the teenage boy stands in the middle of the stage, addressing the audience before dashing off stage right.

He's short, I notice, but he has the lead in a majority of the songs; and it's easy to see why, considering his voice is almost as great as mine.

They sing a song that I've never heard of, it's fast and their dance moves are even more in sync than the previous songs.

When they finish, we all stand and watch as the crowd gives them a standing ovation before the stage lights dim and the lights come on. Everyone's bustling out past us until we finally make our way out to the lobby outside.

I'm following Kurt and get slightly over-whelmed as we get surrounded by people simply standing in the foyer. I feel her hand on my back, guiding me towards an open area near a large window. I'm pressed into her side when we finally manage to find the others.

"Oh, my God." Kurt says, tugging on my sleeve. "There he is, look, over there."

I frown, trying to see what he's looking at, but can't really see over the heads of everyone.

"We need to get out of here. No doubt, someone's going to realize we're not exactly fancy." Santana mutters to a nodding Mercedes.

She begins to pull my sleeve as Santana pulls Brittany along towards the open front doors. I glance behind me to see if Kurt is coming and stop when I notice him being approached by the short boy from onstage.

Pulling back when she tugs again on my sleeve, I try to get her attention on Kurt.

"Santana!" she says, urgently to the brunette who is almost halfway to the door. Santana turns when she hears her voice and narrows her eyes when she sees Kurt and him talking.

"He's blowing our cover." She says to Santana, who brushes past me and stalks over to Kurt.

"Not if I can help it."

I stand by her side as we watch Santana and Kurt argue before she grabs his sleeve and begins to pull him towards the door.

"C'mon." I turn and follow her until we're standing in front of Santana's car. Mercedes is standing with Brittany when we reach them.

"In." she pulls open the door and waits until I'm safely inside before shutting it.

I watch through the windows as Kurt and Santana finally reach her, Brittany, and Mercedes. Santana pulls Brittany to the passenger door and tells her to stay before shutting the door. We watch as their muffled voices start to argue.

"Thanks to you, we're probably going to be found out-"

"The only reason we'd get found out is because of you causing a scene in there, Satan."

"Oh, please. I wasn't causing a scene."

"Guys, stop. This arguing isn't helping anything. It's just going to draw more attention to us, if anything."

"Fine, we need to get back to Lima, anyways. If we get caught, which I'm sure we will, you're taking the blame for this."

"We're not going to get caught, so don't worry about it."

"We need to get out of here," Mercedes cuts in, "Everyone's coming outside."

"Do you think anyone realizes that Sam's gone?" Brittany says to me from the front seat.

"I don't think so, Brittany. We should probably inform them, quickly; otherwise he'll be stuck here. Even though, it isn't that bad of a place." I say, watching as she and Santana make their ways around the car and opening the doors.

"I think they keep people locked in the basement. It looks like one of those places." Brittany says, leaning forward to look up at the building. "Doesn't it, San?"

"What?" Santana growls before closing her door and pushing the key into the ignition.

"Doesn't it look like that building in that mountain movie?"

"Mountain- What're you talking about, Britt?"

"Remember, the movie about the mountains that wasn't about the mountains?"

"Yeah, Britt."

It's obvious that Santana just agreed, which I would have done, as well. I turn to her as she reaches over to pull on my seatbelt and smartly tug on her sleeve.

She shushes me before pulling her own seatbelt on.

"Santana, wait." I say, getting irritated of being shushed and knowing that I would probably end up regretting this later.

"What, Berry?" Santana glances at me as she turns to look out the back window to pull out.

"We can't leave yet."

"Rachel."

"No, Quinn. We can't leave."

I don't look at her after I say this, knowing that I would most definitely end up regret ignoring her command.

"Why not."

"Sam isn't here."

"Fucking hell."

Santana slams on the break before pulling back into the parking spot. We watch as she throws open the door and starts speaking rapidly in a mixture of English and Spanish words.

I sit with my hands folded in my lap. My eyes fall and I can feel her eyes on me. Biting my lip, I wait and hope that she'll wait until later.

"Rachel."

It's a command. But, I don't really want to face her.

"Look at me."

When I look up, I can barely make out her face in the shadows. We lock eyes and she sighs. I can't tell if it's disappointment or anger in the dark.

"I'm sorry, Master." I offer, knowing it wouldn't be enough.

She doesn't say anything and continues to look in my eyes. I want to look away, but I know if I do, I probably won't see my father's any time soon.

She breaks the eye contact when the door opens and Santana pushes Sam into the spot next to me.

"I really hope you get your Master soon because that was complete bull, Evans." Santana roughly pulls her seatbelt on before remembering to pull Brittany's on. "You should be glad I'm not your Master, Evans. I can't believe you'd pull something like that."

Her tone is nearly at full volume now and fills the entire car. I watch as Brittany tenses in the front seat before reaching over to grab Santana's hand. It calms Santana enough, I notice. She huffed angrily once more before pulling out of the now busy parking lot.

"First, I have to save our asses because of Hummel, and now you? You better hope this night wasn't a complete waste because, Master or not, I'm going to kick your ass." Santana is still threatening Sam until we're nearly home. I sit still the entire time and try to think of anything else except for when we get home.

Sam is silent the whole ride, as well. He's staring out the window like a moody child who wasn't able to buy all he wanted at the store until we pull up to Noah's house again.

Clambering out of the vehicle, I stand until she snaps before following her into the house.

It's around eleven, and I just want to sleep. I don't pay much attention to what everyone else is saying. It's all a mixture of Santana's angry rants about Kurt and Sam with a little bit of information about Jesse that I don't want to hear.

"Come." I hear her say, after nearly an hour of sitting in complete silence. I follow her out to the car and it's a silent ride on the way home. When she parks the car, she cuts the engine and turns in her seat to face me.

"Go to your room."

I nod once before climbing out the passenger door and walking up to the front door; opening it with my own set of keys, I let it shut behind me before taking off my shoes and walking up the staircase and to my own room.

My hands are shaky when I reach the bathroom that connects to my room. I turn the light on and go about doing the routine that I had back before I was marked. It's odd, I think, as I finally turn the light off and feel my way through the darkness to my own bed, that this is the first time I've ever spent the night in my own room. It's much colder in here. It's too dark and empty.

It's nothing like sleeping on the small bed beside hers.

There are no sounds to keep me company; her even breathing that would lull me to sleep every night wasn't there. It's much too quiet in here. I toss and turn, trying to listen for her footsteps in the other room, and then try to remember if I had even heard her come inside. I lay awake and look up towards my left, only to remember that I'm not lying down on the ground. I want to cry, to get out of bed and look for her; what stops me is knowing if I do, this night won't be the only night I spend in my room. In here, there's no comfort of knowing I can crawl into her bed during the middle of the night after another nightmare; no comfort of being able to wake up with her looking down at me, or being woken up by her kneeling at the edge of my bed. It's much too quiet in here. Closing my eyes, I slide further down into the large, plush comforter in search of heat and comfort that isn't there.

This is a punishment that I never want to deal with again.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** So, it's been a while, and this chapter is super short, but I'm hoping to get another chapter up soon- And, hopefully, the next chapter is longer.

**Thanks to:** Darkandtwisty22, ForeverTVlover, Lexi-Nicole21, Cyberbaby, .there, and the anonymous/lazy reviews from Awesome, truc, heathstar, and Star.  
>Special thanks to: <strong>darkandtwisty22<strong>, for being absolutely amazing like none other and so patient with me, I honestly wouldn't have continued this story after chapter one if it weren't for you and your reminders; thank you!

I'm still struggling with continuity, and I am terrible at making things make sense. I tend to switch from present tense to past tense, a lot. Also, I'm messing around with different writing elements, I suppose.

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I don't own anything at all. Seriously.

**Warnings:** This chapter is so short that it hurts. I'm sorry about that. And, this will be general third person point of view instead of Rachel's.

* * *

><p>She spent the night staring out her window and into the moonlight that spilled onto the grass of their neighbor's backyard. It was around two when she heard the soft, muffled cries coming from down the hallway. She stands and softly makes her way to her half-closed door and looks out and down the hallway that is softly lit by the moonlight falling in from the window near the stairs. She hears the crying louder from here and she's tempted to make her way to the room with no door.<p>

Her hand softly touches the cool handle of her own door before she stops herself. The crying is still muffled and a little softer now, but that could just be because the other girl had realized she was being loud. It's a half hour later when complete silence finally falls upon the house. She listens to the soft breathing from the brunette as she sits with her knees bent and pressing against her chest from the floor beside the open doorway of a room that is hardly used.

It's not forty minutes later when she's woken up by another round of soft snuffling coming from inside the room. She jerks awake, her neck slightly sore from being held at the awkward angle for so long. She listens and resists the temptation to rush into the room and hold the smaller girl close to her body. After a beat of silence, she hears shuffling inside and the soft padding of bare feet on carpeted floors. A small thump as something is dropped on the floor followed by silence before even breathing fills the room and the hallway. She waits for another ten minutes before standing up and wincing from the stiffness of sitting on wooden floors for half the night. Leaning over slightly, she peers into the room that is bathed in soft moonlight from the open curtains inside. Her gaze shifts from the surprisingly empty and stripped bed to the mound of seemingly rising and falling blankets that are lying on the ground at the foot of the bed.

It's heart-breaking, she thinks, watching with tears in her eyes as the girl beneath the covers shifts and settles again. Wrapping her arms around herself, she stands in the open doorway before turning and walking back to her room. She softly closes the door behind her, ignoring the empty pile of blankets that lie at the edge of her own bed, and climbs underneath the cold covers. It isn't long before she lets a few of her own tears fall.

* * *

><p>Rachel knew something was wrong when she woke up the next morning; the sun was too bright, she was too well-rested, and she could hear the soft melody of music coming through the open doorway of her rarely-used room. Maybe it was the music that woke her up moments earlier, or maybe the muffled sound of the children across the street (who were always up at ungodly hours on the weekends). Whatever it was, she was soon pushing herself up from the pile of blankets she was lying on, and rushing around the room looking for fresh clothes to wear.<p>

'It must be late,' she thought to herself as she padded across the wooden floor and down the hallway. Taking a chance, she tiptoes towards the slightly cracked door that separated Her bedroom from the rest of the house.

Inside, she can see the bed unmade still and, next to it, the small bed she would usually occupy. The radio on the dresser beside the bed is turned on and playing a slow country song. Faintly, she can hear the shower from the connected bathroom running. She's tempted, very much so. However, before she can even push the door open a few more inches, she hears the sound of the shower being turned off. Quickly, she steps back after one last longing-look towards her bed on the ground before turning on her heel and moving towards the bathroom on the opposite side of the hall.

She's showered and dressed within fifteen minutes; her dirty clothes are carelessly dumped in the hamper outside the bathroom and she has to use all her willpower to avoid looking at Her now-open doorway.

Quietly, she walks down the hallways to her door-less room before stopping mid-step when she sees Her sitting on the bed. She doesn't more for a second, that is, until she hears the sound of Her snapping her fingers. Immediately, she falls to her knees and shuffles over to stop in front of Her.

"Good girl." She says, reaching out to push some of the still damp hair from her face. Rachel makes a small noise in the back of her throat before being gently shushed by Her.

It's quiet for a few moments until She finally asks, "How did you sleep?"

Rachel drops her head as her shoulders sag. Soothingly, She runs her fingertips down the side of Rachel's face before gently lifting her chin to look in her eyes.

"Words, Rachel."

Bottom lip slightly trembling, Rachel takes a deep breath before mumbling a few words and turning her head away from Her.

Frowning, She sighs deeply before roughly grabbing Rachel's chin again and turning her to look her in the eyes.

"I know you're upset, Rachel." She says, looking searchingly into the brunette's eyes. "But, we've already discussed this, didn't we?"

Nodding, Rachel continued to keep looking up to Her after She let go of her chin.

"When I tell you to speak, you do. When I tell you to wait, you do that, right?" She pauses, looking down at the kneeling girl, before reaching her hand out to gently brush away the few tears the girl had shed.

Tentatively, Rachel holds her tongue before nodding.

"Rachel," Quinn sighs before scooting over on the bed an patting the spot next to her. "C'mere."

Pulling herself up, Rachel reaches up to dry her eyes as she sits next to Quinn.

It's silent for a few moments until Quinn sighs again and turns to body slightly to face Rachel. She stares down at her hands on her lap, and attempts to still them when she sees them shaking slightly.

"I-I'm sorry." She finally breaks the silence, still keeping her eyes focused on her hands. The silence between the two girls is thick before Rachel finally speaks.

"For what? It was my fault, Quinn. I knew I shouldn't have disobeyed you, and I'm so sorry. But, I honestly did not want to leave Sam all alone in Westerville; Sure, maybe I could have done something else in order to get your attention. But, I'm not used to just _sitting_ on the sidelines. I don't know how to do this, Quinn, and I'm just so- so, sor-"

"No," Quinn says firmly cutting Rachel off and shaking her head. "I should have listened to you instead of wanting you to be quiet. I was wrong, not you."

Sighing deeply, Quinn reaches over and places a hand on Rachel's leg before continuing, "You're mine, and I'm supposed to take care of you- not ignore you, like how I did."

Rachel places her hand over Quinn's before nodding slightly.

"Well," Rachel says, quietly, "I should have listened to you," Quinn begins to protest before Rachel stops her and continues, "But, you're right, too. We can both kind of share the blame for last night, right? We can consider last night to sort of be an eye-opener, don't you think?"

"That we still have a _long_ way to go before we actually get _this_ figured out?" Quinn motions between them, faintly smiling now.

"Yes," Rachel smiles at the blonde, "But, we can learn from our mistakes, Quinn- starting with this one."

Quinn cocks her head to the side, looking at Rachel with a small smile beginning to form on her face.

"Most definitely."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Uh- My excuses are weak. BUT, I have just found out that I write a tonne more if I write during an episode of South of Nowhere. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and who has added this to their favorite lists. I really appreciate it! I'm still trying to work out where this is going, so, sorry about the random at the beginning. I'll try to tie it in with the rest of the story. Also, my writing is really choppy, and that might turn people off. Tell me if you don't like it, yeah?

Major thanks to **darkandtwisty22** for giving me advice- SO sorry I'm horrible at messaging back. And, thanks to Chopin44 for giving me an idea that I used in this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Glee. Seriously.

Warnings: the AN now seems longer than the actual chapter; there's some stuff in the middle that might be triggering, so jump out if you don't like it. Italics is a flashback. There really aren't any warnings for this chapter.

**x**

* * *

><p>When I was younger, I would be in my room during the summer nights and simply listen to my favorite songs softly playing through the speakers of my stereo. I didn't have to do anything except lay on the floor next to my bed and just let the sounds of Barbra and Angela's voices wash over me and soak into my dreams.<p>

My fathers were downstairs, watching reruns of their favorite shows on the couch. Next to each other, they didn't mind the occasional sound of my music drifting through my open door when I would leave my room to go to the bathroom. Everything was perfect.

Over the years, my summer nights never changed. I would somehow find myself lying on the ground and losing myself in songs that were only a small part of something bigger; their voices gave me hope, and fueled my dreams of being on-stage, on Broadway, in front of an audience who would someday stand and clap after I belted out a song that would become _my_ song.

Those summer nights, I'll never forget them.

* * *

><p>We walked into school with our fingers interlocked, her chin was set at an upwards angle, until we stepped in front of our lockers.<p>

"Rachel, or, erm- Quinn?"

"What do you want, Finn?"

I blink.

My surroundings become a bit clearer as I shake my head slightly from the fog that naturally comes while I'm being lead by her. I hear my name being said again, even though it still sounds far away.

"…Rachel, just for a second."

I feel her hand drop mine, and I frown at the loss until I feel her arm come up and around my shoulders. Leaning into her touch, I sigh before I hear her whispering in my ear.

"Be a good girl."

Her arm slides off my shoulders and a whimper dies in my throat; I try to turn and follow until she snaps her fingers in front of my face. I stop, her hand comes up and lifts my face. Her eyes stare into mine, searching for something that I don't understand.

She turns away, walking down the hallway until she turns the corner. Turning back around, I come face to, well, chest with him.

"Hey, Rach." He says, smiling slightly; my eyes are wide when I look up at him, and my mind begins to race. I want to turn and run. He must see it in my eyes because he frowns down at me.

"I just- I just wanted to talk to you, please?"

"I-I-I'm not- I don't think- Finn, I need Quinn." I can't do this. I just can't. Not right now- it's too soon.

"No, Rachel- please, just listen to me." He pleads, reaching out and grabbing my arm. His fingers wrap almost completely around my upper-arm, and I take a step back only to have my back hit the lockers.

"No. Please." I close my eyes as his hand squeezes tighter, turning my head away from him, until I can't keep it from happening.

"Stop." I whisper, not hearing Finn call out for Her, or feeling him letting go of my arm.

xx

_"Look at this," she sneers, stepping closer and putting her face inches from mine. "Berry, all alone."_

_I step away from her, flinching when I feel a hand push me from behind, causing me to stumble forward. She moves out of the way, laughing when I can't catch my balance and fall to the ground._

_"Aw, is little Berry hurt?" She mocks as I turn around and sit on the ground. With tears in my eyes, I glare up at her._

_"Leave me alone." I say, mentally kicking myself when my voice comes out shaky._

_"Well, you see, Berry," She smirks, stepping closer towards me and kneeling down to eye-level. "That's the one thing we won't be doing today."_

_"Why are you doing this?" I demand, glaring up at her, frustrated more than anything._

_"Because," She looks over her shoulder to the other two girls, "we don't like a snitch, do we?"_

_I watch as the other two girls start moving towards us- towards me, still sitting on the ground. I need to get away._

_"Oh, no you don't." She smirks, standing up and nodding at the other two. They quickly move and pull me roughly up by my arms. I cry out, but it turns into a gasp when I feel my cheek start to sting. Squeezing my arms, they continue to hold me in place as she stands in front of me, looking me up and down before bringing her hand up again._

_"Please, don't." She ignores my pleas and I cry out again when her hand makes contact with my face. Their hands squeeze tighter when I start struggling harder._

_"I never did anything to you!" I plead, letting the tears fall from my eyes._

_"You didn't, but, you know what they say-" She pauses, another smirk graces her face before she brings her fist back and punches me in the stomach. I feel the air rush out of my lungs, and struggle to catch my breath. Tears fall down my face even faster because of the pain, I stop struggling, I can't struggle any more, my body already hurts and I know I can't stop her._

_"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."_

_I close my eyes, feeling their hands let go of me before I fall to the ground. I try to stand up, crawl away, lay complete still and curse myself for even leaving my house today. I want them to go away, I beg for them to stop but nobody is listening to me._

_It feels like hours when I hear the sound of them running away. I don't open my eyes- can't open my eyes. I need to get up. I have to get up. I have to get home._

_I can't move._

_I'm stuck._

_Trapped._

_In my own body, I'm trapped; completely alone and nobody even knows where I am._

_My stomach hurts, my arms hurt, my head is pounding. I need to get home._

_But, I can't. I lay there until I feel the coolness of night on my skin. It has to have been hours since I had left home. Left home and nobody is coming to look for me. Nobody is coming._

_No, no, no._

_Not right now. Not right _now_._

Xxx

"Rachel- Rachel Barbra Berry, listen to me- Rachel!" I hear her voice, leading me back, once again.

I'm gasping, opening my eyes, face to face with her. Her eyes are wide and there's a mixture of concern and fear before she breathes out a sigh of relief. I feel her hands holding mine before she lets go and wraps her arms around me.

We're both sitting on the floor, leaning against the lockers. My heart is racing, and I'm still trying to catch my breath when I notice that we're surrounded by some of the others from glee.

"C'mon, Rachel, listen to me," She says, feeling my body tense when I look up at the faces looking down. "You need to calm down, please, Rachel."

I close my eyes, turning my head into her neck and moving my arms to wrap them around her. She shifts slightly, letting me move until I'm completely wrapped around her. Her hands gently rub my lower back and I let myself get lost in the feeling of her body against mine for the first time.

Whispering words of comfort in my ear, she gently rocks us back and forth.

"Can you guys give us a moment?"

I hear the shuffling of their feet walking away, she's still rocking me back and forth, and I feel myself calming down.

"Rachel?" I hear her whisper, and I tighten my arms slightly to show I'm listening.

"I need- I just need to know- what you need from me. I don't- I'm not sure how to handle this, and I was so scared- What do you need, Rachel?"

She sounds so unsure of herself-

Because of me.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." My voice breaks in the middle and I can't stop the tears; I want to stand up, run, and I'm halfway out of her lap when I hear Her.

"No, Rachel."

I whimper, my eyes shut tight; I'm half-standing, half-sitting and completely confused.

"Sit."

Carefully, I sit back down in Her lap. Tears are still coming down my face, and I feel Her hands gently wiping them away.

"You need to talk to me; I'm not going to let you stay up in your head."

I nod, biting my lip, still not wanting to open my eyes, still not wanting to see what's in Hers.

"We're going to miss glee today," I let my head drop down, knowing this is another punishment. "Then, we're going home, talk, and, if I think you're up for it, we'll still have dinner with your fathers tonight."

I take a deep breath, nodding when She pauses for me to answer. Gently, She coaxes me to standing up before getting up Herself.

"Come." She commands, taking my hand and leading me towards the doors leading out to the parking lot.

"Look at me, Rachel." She commands, turning to face me from the driver's seat. I shake my head, still not wanting to look in Her eyes. Not wanting to see disappointment. Not wanting to see Her sad. Not wanting to see Her angry.

"Rachel. Now."

"Please, I can't." I finally say, keeping my head down, my voice shaking.

"Why not?"

"I'm scared."

"Of- S-scared of me?"

Gasping, my eyes shoot open, and I immediately turn to look at her; she's still looking at me, something is hidden in her eyes and that is what scares me.

"No, Quinn, not you." I say, reaching my hands out to grab hers. "It's not your fault, not yours. It's mine, please."

I hold her hands tightly, afraid she'll let go. She's holding my hands just as tight, looking into my eyes with tears almost falling. I want to hold her, but I need her to hold me.

It's silent for the next few minutes, just us holding each other hands. She's staring into my eyes, searching for something, waiting.

Finally, she nods, letting go of one of my hands to reach up and cup my face.

I lean into her touch; the one thing we haven't allowed ourselves to do these past couple weeks. The one thing we both absolutely need. The one thing I will always need. I close my eyes again, letting myself get lost in the feeling of her skin against mine.

"Open your eyes, Rachel." Her voice is soft, gentle, quiet. I don't hesitate in letting my eyes fall open, don't hesitate in smiling when I see her smiling back at me.

"Let's go home."

"Home." I whisper, looking out the window before looking back at her.

My problems won't be solved tonight. Or even tomorrow. I won't be able to talk about the memories any time soon. But right now, I'm going home. She's taking me _home_.

"Home, our home." She confirms, still smiling as she starts the car, reaching out and finding my hand again as we pull out of the parking lot.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Oh, my. I don't have much to say except, I'm sort of thinking of bumping up the rating from a T to an M in the future but, probably not for a while. I still don't know where this story is going- but, I'm going to try to figure it out before I put up the next chapter. Happy July!

**Thanks** to MilesToGo81, Chopin44, Lexi-Nicole21, darkandtwisty22, Miss I DON'T know at all, MonkeyUp, RVNola546, Lauraluvscasey, and those who have put this on their alerts! I really appreciate it! Thanks, again, everyone.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

**Warnings**: I don't think there's really anything horrible in this chapter; it's pretty slow in the beginning and some of the middle, but I'm going to say it's a set-up for later chapters because that makes it sound like I know what I'm doing.

x

* * *

><p>I grew up with two dads; amazingly supportive, happy, always willing to be there if I asked, never wanting to let me grow up too fast.<p>

We would watch movies all weekend, take trips to see my grandmother in Nebraska during the summers, spend time in the kitchen and make dishes from recipes we found on the internet. I never wanted to leave, but I would- when I would find the perfect place to go; a place where there was too much going on that I wouldn't have to miss them, wouldn't have to miss the times we spent together. It was camps and talent shows and recitals that filled the time, but there they were- usually off on the sidelines, cheering for me, completely proud of whom I was growing up to be.

It was the little things, like when they would help me with homework, teach me how to ride a bike on the weekends, how to swim during the summer, how to make the perfect blend of chocolate and hot milk before settling down for a movie night.

When I was younger, it was easy to find reasons to stay.

I was fifteen when I woke up that morning when I had felt as though my world were falling apart. I was confused and scared. But both of my parents were there to help me. It seemed as though this was the one thing they couldn't have helped me with. I wanted to push them away, deal with everything by myself. Only, I knew I wouldn't be able to. I wouldn't be able to handle this all by myself.

So, they tried their best for the first couple days. They brought me water, and apple juice. The kind of apple juice that I liked and was a pain to get because it was only sold in the stores a town over. They let me sleep, let me watch my favorite movies three times in a row. They asked me questions: How are you feeling? Do you want to go to school? Do you want more apple juice?

My parents aren't the worst, and they aren't the best.

They knew they weren't, and I think _that_ is what made them the best.

It was having to leave all of this behind left me completely terrified. Waking up one morning- a morning just like any other day- and finding out that all of this would be stripped away from me. I would become bare, exposed to someone who had made my life hell for the past two years. I would become hers for the rest of my life (unless, heaven forbid, she turned to the black market), for two more years of high school, I wouldn't be able to have nights and weekends and summers with the two that had raised me.

xx

"You okay?" she whispered, watching as I pushed my food around on my plate. I had zoned out for a bit, my mind wandering as I watched my dads banter back and forth as they brought dinner out to where Quinn and I were sitting.

"Yeah, just a little tired." I say, giving her a quick smile before turning back towards my still arguing parents.

"Honey," Dad says, pausing his and Daddy's argument as he heard our exchange. "We really don't mind if you want to go home early."

I shake my head, biting my lip, trying to ignore all three pairs of eyes watching me.

"Your dad is right, darling. You don't have to stay up; we can always meet up this weekend."

I shake my head again, keeping my eyes on my plate where my fork is still pushing the spaghetti around. It's quiet around the table for a few moments until I hear them speak up again, only they're speaking to Quinn now. I relax when I feel their eyes turn away from me; I try to pick up on my thoughts from where I had left them earlier, but can't seem to remember what I had been thinking of last. Instead, I resign myself to listen to their conversation, which is strange to hear because it feels like it's been weeks since I had actually paid my full attention to a conversation she was having.

I blush when I realize that it's me they're talking about, but it goes unnoticed by the trio.

"How is she?" Dad asks Quinn, his voice holding a concerned tone.

"She's all right, I think." Quinn gives, her own voice lacking assuredness and a hint of confusion. "I mean, in the beginning, it wasn't too hard. My mom sort of helped me until she couldn't because she's fully submissive; my father isn't around, so- I'm kind of lost."

She finishes her sentence quietly, and I can practically feel my Dad nodding from across the table.

"Quinn, you can always come to me if you need any questions answered." He says, sounding incredibly as though he could be sitting across from me in a high-backed chair with a clipboard in his lap as I lay down on a chair that gets too hot when I'm lying _too_ long. I smile slightly at the thought of my father becoming a psychiatrist, just like in those old movies- the ones where you don't remember the plot, but remember certain scenes.

"Thanks, Mr. Berry." Quinn says, a little more relaxed and sure of herself with his offer. "I just- Sometimes, I don't know what to do with her, or what would make her feel better-"

It's an awkward beat of silence before she bursts out, "Not like that, or anything! I mean, we aren't- we never talked about actually- we haven't- won't be doing anything like that." She finishes, hastily.

My head shot up at her outburst and I can feel my face growing hot. I turn my head towards Quinn and would have laughed at how red her own face is had she not just brought up our sex life, even though it is perpetually non-existent, or at least, for the time being.

"Well," he starts, blinking owlishly at her for a second before his face slowly formed that grin I was familiar with. "I wasn't taking your sentence how you obviously thought I had taken it but, it's nice to know that some things about teenagers never change."

He glanced over at his husband before they both shared a look and started chuckling. I shook my head slightly, willing the color in my cheeks to fade away. I glanced over at her, getting a little worried when her cheeks were still bright red as she stared down at her half-empty plate.

"Oh, honey." Dad says, looking at Quinn and waiting for her to finally meet his eyes. "It's all right, if you and Rachel want to wait. There are plenty of relationships out there where people wait for months before becoming intimate. Just don't wait too long."

"Why not?" I hear Quinn ask. I move my attention fully towards Quinn, whose cheeks are still red, but she looks more intrigued than embarrassed.

"If you wait too long, both of you are going to go absolutely crazy." He said, matter-of-factly, before leaning back in his own chair and putting his arm to rest behind daddy's own.

"Crazy?" she asks, and I can't help but shift my eyes back and forth as the two spoke.

"Crazy." He confirms, "I'm guessing the teachings in school have become pretty uninformative over the years for you to be even asking."

Quinn nods slowly, and I can see her mind working behind her eyes. Suddenly, I get this sudden urge to reach out and grab her hand, but I ignore it, fixing my attention to the conversation again.

"Okay, mini-dinner-lesson on relationships." He nods before reaching up with his other hand to adjust his glasses before putting on that voice I usually only hear when he's describing his ideas during a business call.

"In school, they'll tell you all about these chemical formulas and the government parts of relationships and markings. Only, that's not even a third of what happens in the relationship after the markings. When you get marked, it's all about having to wait to be found or go out and find them. When you do manage to find your Dominant or your submissive, you go through the whole government registration that's required. After you're all settled into your new house, both people will sit there and have no idea what to do then. Sometimes, they'll be absolutely horrible to their sub simply because it's what they've seen their own parents do."

He pauses to take a drink before continuing, glancing over towards me before giving his attention to Quinn.

"But, usually, what they're doing is wrong; not because their parents are horrible- no, I'd never say that, but mostly because they're scared. It's usually when they see their parents- usually the Dominant- act out towards the submissive; the child will pay attention to the relationship between their parents. They don't see the other side of the relationship because it's always happening and it's normal. When those few moments come from their parents- where the voices might be a little louder, or even a public punishment- it's what they remember when they're scared and starting an entirely new relationship. They forget the happiness that their parents shared and think back to the moments that stuck out the most. Most, not _all_ of them, start out this way simply because of the human mind. But, you've seen how some relationships start out horribly and then everything starts to get better between them- every relationship finds a way to work out. It just takes a little bit of time and faith, Quinn."

I blink and turn my attention towards her; her hands are in her lap, and she's biting her bottom lip- an action that I haven't figured out what it truly means, yet.

"Faith." She smiles, slightly. "That's something I know a bit about."

I smile slightly, not able to take my eyes off of her until she turns towards me. I bite my lip, averting my eyes to her thigh; blushing again when I hear the soft chuckle from across the table.

"See that?" he says, pointing out my action. "It comes natural, completely natural. She doesn't know she's doing it, am I right, honey?"

I nod, keeping my eyes on her thigh until I see her hand reach out to rest on my own. I relax slightly, moving my hand to lay on hers before he begins talking again.

"She doesn't think about, as most submissives won't. For us, the dominants, we have to think a bit more, but not much." He leans forward in his chair, arm still resting on the back of daddy's chair. "You'll get there, Quinn, I promise. It's going to take a while, and a little bit of faith in yourself."

She squeezes my hand, nodding slightly at my dad before turning towards me.

"But," she says, speaking towards my dad but refusing to take her eyes off me. "What if I hurt her?"

"You won't."

xx

We make our way home, our house is a small two-floor in the middle of our block. She's opening the car door for me, taking my hand to lead me inside. I wait for her as she hangs up our coats and follow her up the stairs to her room.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she whispers in the quiet, moon-lit room. I nod, leaning into her side as we stand just inside the doorway of her room. I don't want to move from her warmth, letting myself get lost in the feeling of her body against mine for the second time today. She wraps her arms around me, allowing me to lean heavily into her, trying to get closer to what I'm not sure I'm ready for.

"'m fine." I whisper into her chest.

"C'mon." She pulls away, pulling me towards the dresser. I take the clothes she hands me and am about to take a step towards her bathroom to get dressed when I hear her voice sharp in the darkness.

"No."

It's quiet for a moment, my own breathing stopping, waiting, confused-

_Excited._

"Good girl."

My hands shake slightly, going unnoticed by Her because of the lack of light and the clothes they hold.

"Change."

My tongue pushes on the roof of my mouth, and I remember to breathe as I get undressed in front of Her, undressed in semi-darkness, undressed in her room with the feeling of her eyes watching my every movement.

_Excited._

She waits until I'm holding my dirty clothes before undressing Herself. My eyes drop to the ground in front of Her feet, wanting to peek, but knowing I shouldn't, knowing I can't.

She changes, Her clothes falling to the ground, I shift slightly and I hear Her pause.

"Bed."

I move, Her eyes watching me through the dark, my own eyes adjusting to the darkness as I move towards the small mattress that lays on the ground next to Her own.

She snaps Her fingers and I freeze. The sound loud in the silence, it almost echoes throughout the room and I shiver slightly, my eyes closing until I hear Her voice.

"Knees."

I let out the breathe I didn't know I had been holding, slowly moving to get on my knees just at the edge of my bed and turning to face Her silhouette on the other side of the room.

"Good girl." She says, Her voice soft, gentle, commanding. She moves towards me, stopping in front of me, looking down at me. My hands are resting on my thighs, my eyes facing down but my head tilting up, and She reaches out to stroke the top of my head before She grabs a fistful of my hair, pulling slightly, my breath catching in my throat at the angle.

_Excited._

She bends over slightly, closer to my face, but my eyes don't move up from the floor and I can feel Her smile through the dark.

"You belong to me."

I gasp, for air or the tone of her voice, I don't know. My eyes are struggling to stay open as She tugs my hair slightly. Her other hand comes up and taps my cheek smartly. I look up, meeting Her eyes, feeling another emotion start to climb up my throat at the smile directed at me.

"Mine."

She loosens Her grip slightly, allowing me to breathe properly.

"Got it?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good."

She smiles down at me, letting go of my hair completely. Kneeling, She reaches up to rub the already tender skin on my scalp.

"You're such a good girl."

That feeling gets stronger and I can't help but smile shyly at Her through the dark. She stands up, bending over once again to press Her lips gently to my forehead for a second.

"Sleep, now. Goodnight, My girl."

I lie down in my bed, the covers pulled around me tightly, listening to the sounds of Her shuffling around the room before She's climbing into Her bed. It's quiet after She finds a comfortable position, the only sound inside the room is coming from Her- the steady, soft breathing filling the silence.

Her soft breathing finally evens out to a steady rhythm, gently pulling me into a deep sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN**: So, Hi. Sorry for the wait. If you're still reading this story, thanks. Also, the 'Exchange' I mention in this chapter is the exchanging of gifts after the six-week of being Marked. They can be elaborate or simple, depending on the person. Anyway, I think I know where I'm taking this story but it's going to take a long time, but I want to finish this fic.

Here's a chapter!

x

* * *

><p>"Leave me alone." I glare at her, not liking the smirk that appears on her face to my reaction.<p>

"Rachel Berry." She says, stepping closer until the only thing between us is a desk. "Didn't think you'd actually come, if I'm being honest."

Continuing to glare at her, I reach behind me and rest my hand on the closed door's handle.

"I just wanted to come and demand that you leave me alone- I knew your 'friends' wouldn't be with you this time." I defend myself, watching her as she moves around the desk and sits on top of it.

"Well, you've told me- are you going to leave now?" She says, smirking again as she notices the slight movement of my hand as it tightens for a second before falling to my side. I sigh, knowing I was playing exactly into her game.

"What did you want? Your note seemed important- well, 'threatening' would be a better description-"

"You didn't have to come, but here you are." She says, cutting me off. I shift from foot to foot, not exactly sure what she's implying.

"Does she know you're here?"

"No."

She laughs and I frown again.

"If all you wanted to do was laugh at me," I pause, waiting for her to stop chuckling before continuing, "I'm going to leave."

I turn around to leave, my hand wrapping around the cool metal of the doorknob as she speaks.

"I got my mark." she says, which causes me to turn back around. Leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and face in her hands, she continues to talk, her voice slightly muffled. "It showed up last night."

Confused, I keep quiet until she finally seems to collect herself and looks up at me.

"I'm sorry," is all that she says after a moment. Frowning, I take a step closer to her when she shakes her head and I finally notice the tears in her eyes. She buries her face into her hands again; cautiously, I move closer to her until I'm standing beside her on the desk.

"I don't understand." I quietly admit, not sure how I could comfort her; not sure if she even wanted me to comfort her. Her shoulders shake slightly, and I listen as she continues to hold back sobs. Reaching out a hand, I let it rest on her shoulder only to bring it back to my chest at her sharp intake of breath as she begins violently shaking her head. She quickly jumps off the desk and dashes to the door. I continue to stand there long after she muttered another apology before darting out of the empty classroom.

**xx**

"There you are." She smiles when she sees me, letting her eyes drift down to the bag I'm holding in my hands. "What's that?"

I smile back at her, holding the white plastic bag out for her to see for herself.

"For me?" She asks, taking it from me and opening it to look inside. "Oh, Rachel." She gasps, reaching one hand in before pulling out the small stuffed animal I had carefully placed within.

"It's lovely." She grins, holding it up for closer inspection. I smile and reach up, squeezing the tiny foot of the plush bear. It takes a moment, then suddenly the empty hallway is filled with the sound of-

"Is that Barbra Streisand?"

"Bear-bra Streisand!" I laugh, taking the bear out of her hands for a moment to turn it off. She's grinning at me when I glance up at her face. "The bear reminded me of you, and then I found out you can customize the audio clips in them so I ordered this because I've always thought that if you're going to have a bear that sings, the song should at least be sung by someone great. So, I naturally thought Babs would suffice." I ramble, letting my hands run over the soft faux fur.

"It's perfect." She says, leaning forward and pressing her lips against my forehead for a second before pulling away. Lifting the bear from my hands, she carries it in one hand and wraps an arm around my waist, leading me down the hallway and towards the front doors of the school. "C'mon, you need to eat since you skipped lunch."

**xx**

We pull into the driveway outside our house and I grin at her before undoing my seatbelt and opening the car door. I beat her to the front door, bouncing on the balls of my feet as she leisurely walks up the sidewalk. Unlocking the door, she moves out of the way to let me in. Slipping out of my shoes, I immediately make my way up the stairs and into our room. I can faintly hear her footsteps coming up the stairs, but I'm already on my hands and knees, peering under Her bed.

"Where is it?" I demand, sitting back on the heels of my feet and looking at her leaning against the doorway and watching me with amusement.

"Patience, Rae." She smiles, pushing off the doorway and moving to the dresser that sits against the opposite wall of our bed. I watch her closely as she rummages through one of the drawers, frowning when I realize that she had moved it somehow without me knowing.

"When did you even have time to move it?" I ask her, watching as she continues to search.

"When you were in the shower this morning." She says, shooting me a sidelong glance before returning to searching.

"Oh, Rae, don't pout." She says after glancing at me in my silence. "You would have immediately ripped it open and not taken the time to appreciate it, had I not moved it."

I sigh, knowing she was right.

Finally, she reveals the nicely wrapped package from the depths of the drawer. She moves back across the room, sitting on the bed top next to where I'm still kneeling. Reaching out a hand, she gently pushes some loose hairs away from my face. I smile up at her, meeting her eyes and seeing something that I thought I would never be the cause of.

"You know, Rae," She says, interrupting my thoughts. "I never thought- Well, I never would have let myself imagined these past six weeks to go as well as things did. You, oh, Rae, you are wonderful."

Her voice had faded to a whisper as she finished. She smiled down at me before leaning down to press her lips against my forehead. I bite my lip, trying to hide my smile at the admission from her. She breathes deeply before nodding and handing me my present.

"Thank you, Quinn." I say, running my hands over the delicately wrapped gift. I smile, completely knowing she had been right about before- I wouldn't have stopped and had this moment to appreciate the complex bow wrapped all around the box. It's almost too beautiful to unwrap.

Almost.

I pull one end of the teal-colored ribbon and let it untie before sliding it off the box. Carefully, I pull at the wrapping paper until the tape finally gives. It's time consuming, but eventually the paper is gone and all I have in my hands now is the unmarked, square, cardboard box.

Pulling the top apart, I lean over to peer inside.

Reaching a hand in, I carefully pull the small piece of deep purple leather out. It's smooth on one side, and lined on the other with a soft type of material with snaps on it that faintly jingle when moved. There's a silver loop just like the one on my collar, only this one has two tags attached to it.

Confused, I hold it in one hand and reach my other hand up to my neck where the already-worn collar lightly sits.

"Quinn-" I start, my hands shaking slightly, "I don't- what…"

"Look at it, Rae."

I glance up at her, her eyes are carefully watching my every move, and I obediently bring the new collar up for closer inspection. Immediately, I find myself looking at the tags attached and tears are in my eyes as I realize that one is just the one that is mandatory by law, but the other is-

"I wasn't sure what I wanted it to say," she says gently, "Is it okay?"

"It's amazing." Is all I can manage to say, letting my eyes read the words over and over again, trying to memorize them before I put it on.

"I know it's just a personalized tag, but, I thought you might like it."

Closing my eyes, I let the words run through my mind for a moment. I smile, brushing the tears from my eyes and holding the collar out to her.

"Can I wear it now?" I ask, bringing my lower lip into my mouth and chewing slightly.

"Of course, Rae." She smiles, setting the new collar gently on the bed before reaching down to unbuckle my old one. The sudden feeling of having no collar after wearing it for just over a month is slightly overwhelming in a sense that I don't understand. It feels strange. I feel naked in front of an audience. I feel exposed.

That feeling is gone soon enough- her hands are warm against my neck as she gently snaps the buttons. Reaching my hand up, I let it run over the unfamiliar leather and then to the two tags attached. They feel cold in my hand, cold against my skin, and I can't help the smile that arises on my face when I remember the words.

"Thank you, Master." I say, leaning forward to press my cheek to her jean-clad knee. Her hand finds its way into my hair and She gently massages my scalp. We stay here for a few more minutes until Her other hand comes up and taps my cheek once. I lean back, opening my eyes and waiting.

"Up."

I stand and She does, too. Her hand comes up to press against my neck and my eyes close, feeling Her fingers gently run across the new collar.

"Do you like your new collar?" She asks. Her other hand makes its way to my chin and pulls my face up. "Eyes open."

Her eyes meet mine and I can feel my face grow warm. I nod once, never letting my eyes drift from Hers.

"I'm glad." She smiles, leaning forward and pressing Her lips almost on mine. It's brief, and gentle, and then She is gone.

"Come."

Her hands leave my face, one grabs my hand and I follow Her around the bed and back out into the hall. She leads me down the stairs until we're in the living room.

There's a knock at the front door and I'm left to sit in the middle of the couch as She goes to answer it.

"About time, Q." I hear Santana's voice as soon as She opens the door before she appears in the archway of the room.

"No offence, Santana, but, why are you here?" She asks, closely following the brunette back into the room.

"Well, I dropped Britts off at her dance class and didn't feel like going back to an empty house for two hours." Santana says, taking off her coat before throwing herself down in the armchair. She looks at me briefly, before turning back to Her.

"Did I interrupt…" she trails off, motioning to me.

"Not really." She says, shrugging before moving to sit on my right.

"If you say so," Santana says before she starts going off about cheerleading practice, stopping a few times for Quinn to ask questions.

I let my thoughts wander, as well as my eyes. I look at the clock on the wall above the television, then over to the picture frames we had hung up on the wall behind it. There's one of my dads and me, and one of Quinn and her mom. They were simple, and I smiled slightly, remembering the entire day we had spent trying to agree on which frames looked best.

"Rae and I will probably be there." Hearing my name, I turn back to Her and Santana. Their conversation had gone on and I briefly wondered where we were going to be before Santana spoke.

"You have to be there because I need someone to hold me back in case Trouty Mouth decides he-" Another knock on the door stops her from finishing her sentence.

Frowning, She stands up and goes to the door, leaving me and Santana alone for a moment.

"So, Berry." She says, "I heard one of those Skanks has your number. You tell Quinn yet?"

My heart drops and eyes widen, but before I can form a response, I hear the faint snap of fingers.

Standing up from the couch, I avoid Santana's knowing smirk and immediately go into the hall where I see both of my dad's grinning at me with Her smiling behind them.

Ignoring the growing knot in my stomach, I grin at the sight of them and rush up to give them each a hug.

"There she is! It's been a week since we've seen you, young lady. Good thing Quinn here has been in touch with us, otherwise we'd never hear about how you're doing." Dad says, letting me go and smiling good-naturedly. I laugh, shaking my head, before moving to give Daddy a hug.

"I'm sorry, I've just been so caught up with school, and glee club, that I haven't found a good time to call." I explain, standing back to look at the both of them.

"Oh, honey, it's fine." Daddy says, pressing a kiss to my forehead before moving to walk into the living room. I hear him greet Santana before my dad smiles at me.

"New collar?" He asks, his eyes taking a moment to examine the brand new collar around my neck. I nod before he continues, "Very beautiful; I suppose Quinn has told you already-"

"Actually, I haven't. I wanted it to be a surprise." She cuts him off, moving from the door to my side and finding my hand.

"Ah, I see." He smiles, peering at us over his glasses, "Reminds me of LeRoy and I's Exchange when we were about your age. Oh, how time flies."

His expression becomes wistful for a moment before he hears Daddy's laugh from the living room and mindlessly makes his way out of the hall, leaving Her and I alone for a moment.

"Well, I guess it isn't much of a surprise now." She chuckles, pulling me into Her body. My arms wrap around Her waist as I lean into Her. "I invited a couple people over for a surprise party for you to celebrate our Exchange." She says it quietly, pressing a quick kiss to the top of my head before pulling away.

"Master."

The words leave my mouth and She frowns; I drop my gaze, and pull my lower lip into my mouth, nervously chewing on it before She reaches out, touching my chin and gently lifting my face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asks, bringing Her other hand up to cup my face. "Do you not want a party? I can cancel it."

"No, it's not that, I love it." I say, leaning into her palm and closing my eyes, letting myself get lost in the warmth that I've become accustomed to these past six weeks. "I just- can we- I mean…" My words get stuck in my throat and I realize that I don't know _why_ I'm close to tears. She shushes me before pulling me back into Her arms, Her hands rub my back and I close my eyes.

"Hey, Rae, c'mon, it's okay." She tries to soothe me, whispering words of comfort, as I just attempt to bury myself further into Her arms.

After a few long moments, She gives me a short, tight squeeze before pulling away.

"Rachel, what's wrong?"

I shake my head, and She cups my face with Her hands.

"Look at me."

My eyes meet Hers and She takes a step back, not dropping eye contact.

"Knees."

She moves, slowly walking around me, while my eyes drop back to the ground. Her hands gently run across my shoulder blades, before sliding up into my hair.

I sigh, the familiarity of it comforting. She tugs slightly then lets go before continuing to circle me.

Then she waits.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** The amount of alerts and faves for this story is quite awesome.

**Thanks** to Whisperer21, Pokemon Master Razit, MC-GAR-IL, the anon Em, and, especially, to **FormerGophers**, who is quite a nice individual with a great Tumblr.

**Thanks** to everyone who has this on their alerts or favs; leave a review, if even just a smiley-face or something so I know people like it, I mean, if you want.

**Disclaimer**: I really own nothing.

**Warnings**: No warnings, yet. Maybe in a few chapters. Not this one, though.

* * *

><p>Every single time I begin to explain, I stop.<p>

I want to explain, but every time I try to, it seems like I'm trying to explain only one of these ideas in my head- when, in fact, I need to tell her three.

The words are lost in my throat, and jumbled up in my head; I am terrified because I can't remember the time when I was this much at loss for words.

To tell the truth is the best answer because it's what She wants. I know She knows that I am hiding something. I am hiding two things; one since this morning, and the other since three weeks before.

I am still struggling with another; it's only an idea and a worry on my mind.

I am still hiding it.

From Her.

She is still standing in front of me, quiet as can be until Santana walks into the entryway. She disappears out the front door, at least, I assume so from the breeze that suddenly appears.

"Rachel." She says, stepping forward, but not kneeling down. "Look at me."

I do and see Her. I see her.

"Tell me."

So, I do. I tell all about this morning in the empty classroom with my eyes never leaving Hers. She doesn't show any emotions on Her face, and does not interrupt me. I tell Her about the things that happened last year. I tell Her that it doesn't make sense for someone to hurt me and to then come to me and break down in front of me. It doesn't make sense and I find myself in tears.

"I'm sorry, so sorry." I whisper; I shake my head and let my head fall till my chin meets my chest. "I'm so sorry. I-I-I should have told You earlier. I should have told You in the hallway."

"Yes, you should have."

I wait for Her to say more and She doesn't.

"P-please-" I start, stopping when She begins to speak again.

"We are going to spend the rest of the night as Quinn and Rachel, because we have guests coming soon. I need time to think." She says, voice quiet. "I forgive you, but I need some time to think."

I lift my head up slowly, but keep my eyes looking at the floor.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master." I whisper and nod, closing my eyes.

"I forgive you, Rachel. For not telling me because you didn't understand what you were feeling. I'm upset because you still aren't telling me everything; you still aren't trusting me."

I whimper, shaking my head, wanting to tell Her that I trust Her but She stops me.

"Up, Rachel." She commands, stepping forward and helping me to my feet and then leading me into the living room.

The two men turn their attention to us as we enter and I briefly wonder if my eyes are red from the almost-crying.

"Do you need help setting anything up, Quinn?" Dad asks, standing up.

"Well, I've just got the cooking left-"

"Great!" He grins before leading Quinn out of the room and across to the kitchen.

"Darling," Daddy smiles at me still standing in the doorway, and patting the seat beside him on the couch. When I sit down next to him, I let myself lean into side. He delicately wraps an arm around my shoulders, resting his head on top of mine.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He quietly says after a few moments of silence.

I sigh, deep and heavy, pulling my side away from his slightly. Pressing my back into the couch, I stare blankly at the muted TV for a minute. He waits and I think of what to say.

If I were to tell him about this morning, I would have to explain why I was confused- which would lead to the discussion of me keeping the after-school fights for the first half of high school from him and dad; also admitting that they only stopped when I became attached to Quinn in school after getting my mark. I don't like keeping secrets from either of them, but they don't need the knowledge of something they can't change.

Deciding to avoid that conversation, I bring my thoughts back around to my other small secret; it's not even a secret, just more of a not-the-full-truth.

"There is something..." I start, reaching my hands out to brush the non-existent wrinkles in my jeans. "I mean, it's nothing, really- just sort of a _worry_, if even that."

He doesn't say anything and waits patiently for me to continue.

"What am I supposed to do after high school?" I finally say, turning to look at him, holding my breath and, in the back of my mind, hope for an answer that I want to hear.

He sighs, sitting up properly and pulling me forward with him. He squeezes my shoulder with his hand, comforting me as he carefully thinks.

"Rachel, let me tell you a story-"

"Oh, no." I interrupt him with groan before slumping back into the couch.

"I swear, this one's worth hearing." He chuckles, pulling me up again to the edge of the couch. "Your dad and I- when we got marked, I was scared of the exact same thing. I mean, we had both just met weeks before getting our marks, so we really hadn't known each other." He wraps his arm around me again, continuing quietly, "Hiram ended up graduating and getting a job in Columbus, and I was still in school. We thought we could easily make it work, and it did for a few weeks or so."

"What happened?" I asked, still leaning against him with my eyes closed. He sighs, bringing his other arm up and tightening both arms around me before answering.

"I couldn't do it, and neither could he. I felt like I was going crazy inside my head after a few weeks. He'd come down to see me every other weekend while I drove up to see him on the others, but, it just wasn't enough after a few months. It felt like there was this weight pressing on my chest all the time, a constant aching, and it terrified me." He pauses, pulling away from me and waiting for me to turn and look him in the eyes. "It isn't healthy to be away from Them, but sometimes you both need to find a way to make it work. It's going to hurt, but it _is_possible, honey."

"But, I thought it wasn't good to be away from each other for long periods of time?" I frown, thinking back to that dinner weeks ago.

"It isn't, mostly because it just physically hurts. Only, that pain eventually goes away after many years of no contact. Of course, if you ever do go a couple months without being able to be near your Dom, and then suddenly they're there again, you have to be careful. The next time, if you ever go another long period of not seeing Them, it's going to hurt even more than the first time." He sighs, continuing. "Going a week or so isn't too bad, darling, compared to other possibilities. Communication is key in every relationship, and I'm just guessing here, and I'm _thinking_I'm right, but- you haven't told Quinn about your worries yet, have you?"

He nods knowingly at my silence; I sigh, looking down and brushing at the non-existent wrinkles again.

"You're going to have to tell her, dear." He says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders again and pulling me into another comforting hug.

"Well, doesn't this look cozy?" Hiram says, walking into the room at that moment. He sits down on the other side of me before crushing me between the two of them. Wriggling out from between them and sliding onto the floor, I laugh along with them, enjoying this moment.

Twenty minutes later, I'm still sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch and watching some TV show, when someone knocks on the front door. I look over as I see Quinn come out of the kitchen to answer it, and soon the other chairs are occupied with nearly all the members of glee; the conversations of everyone causes the television to become background noise.

"So, Rachel," Brittany says, coming over from where she and Santana had been standing and talking to Mercedes and taking the spot next to me on the floor. "San told me you were in trouble."

The best thing about Brittany is the fact that she is straight-forward.

It may also be the worst thing about Brittany, too.

"I was, earlier." I admit, thinking again about what had happened in the entryway.

"Not anymore, right?"

"Not anymore." I confirm, smiling at the blonde as she nods and then stands up. I watch as she moves back over to Santana's side, blushing when she whispers something into Santana's ear and knowing it was about me.

"Rachel."

Her voice comes from my right and I look to see her standing in the doorway of the living room, watching me. She smiles at me, and I bite back my own smile before starting to making my way over to her.

"No." Her voice is sharp this time, and it's then I realize that I was still on the floor- on my hands and knees. Quickly, I stand up and hurry to Her side. I blush at the sudden hush that came over the room at Her command; I push myself closer to Her side, attempting to hide my face in Her shoulder rather than looking at everyone watching us. Wrapping an arm around my waist, She presses a swift kiss to my head before addressing the rest of the room.

"Thanks for coming, everyone. Rachel and I are glad you could come and celebrate our Six-Weeks. The food should be done in about ten minutes; there's drinks in the kitchen, if anyone's thirsty." Silence follows until Noah suddenly stands and appears from behind the TV before making his way towards the kitchen.

"I didn't even see him come in." Kurt says confusedly, causing Mercedes to laugh and the rest of the room to go back into the sound of conversation.

"Come." She commands quietly in my ear before leading me out of the living room, through the hallway, and up the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** This story is a year old and is now eight chapters. Time flies when you don't do much. Also, wow guys, the amount of reviews and alerts and faves this story has officially blown my mind. I really appreciate. Also, the flow in this chapter is different, in my opinion. Maybe it isn't.

**Thanks** to: Jules-Day, Whisperer21, FormerGophers, gllover22, Silversaphire96, and Anon-Em! For reviewing the last chapter-

Seriously, you guys leaving reviews makes me insanely excited- and I think most of you have reviewed each chapter- Thank you, so much! I wish I could like, send you little friendship bracelets in the mail but that'd be creepy so, I'll settle with a thank you in the form of words.

**Disclaimer:** Doth mother know you weareth her drapes? I don't own anything- including that sentence.

**Warnings:** Well, I really don't know if I'll ever have real warnings to add ever, but maybe someday. Not today, though.

xx

We stand in silence, the muffled sound coming from the voices below us. I want to reach out and touch her arm, wrap my own arms around her waist, lean my head against her chest and just feel her body against mine. Instead, I stand and wait because she has a reason for us being here in the middle of the bedroom while we have people downstairs waiting for us.

I never know where to look in these moments so my eyes jump from looking straight into hers down to her sock-clad feet then up to the belt wrapped around her waist. This doesn't seem to bother her though because she just smiles and simply looks at my face every single time.

I wait and she watches and it goes on for several moments until she brings her hand up and brushes soft fingertips against my neck, leaving me holding my breath and just letting her touch as I wait.

"You, Rachel Berry, are beautiful." Her voice is soft and I'm suddenly wondering what I've done to get this kind of praise- but before I can ask, she takes a step closer and I momentarily forget about breathing.

No, it isn't the first time I've been this close to her but it's the closest I've ever felt. It feels like I'm closer than I am, but only her hand is touching me and I am overwhelmed all of the sudden.

Maybe she realizes I'm not breathing, or maybe it's something about my face, because she takes a step away, leaving me to my own space.

"Quinn," I whisper, my eyes searching hers before dropping to look at her socks.

"I talked to your dad earlier." She says, her voice is strong this time, louder than before and I'm hanging on to her every word. "Do you want to know what he said, Rachel?"

She's going to tell me anyway, and I just bite my lip, waiting to hear what she wants me to hear.

"I told him about us and how I think _you_ think you're telling the truth when you conveniently leave things out." Her voice is quiet but resilient; she's still watching me. "I asked him if he knew who the Savendale's were, and he told me a story about a guy named Mark Savendale."

I flinch, knowing where this is ultimately going, and my arms come up to fold across my chest. She pauses, watching me, and I keep my eyes on her socks.

"Rachel, why does your dad know who Mark Savendale is, yet he didn't seem to know anything about his daughter?"

She waits for me to answer, and I take a deep breath, bringing my eyes up to her belt, knowing I couldn't explain this straight to her face.

"I never told them about her," I say, still staring at her belt, not knowing what I would see if I were to look her in the eyes. Continuing, "I didn't want them to feel guilty about anything- she was only angry because my dad pressed charges against hers." I try to explain it to her, dropping my arms, finally looking up and seeing questions.

Questions that I needed to answer.

"You know that they would have felt more protective than guilty if they had known about the name-calling," She says it like it's a fact, and it is then that I realize she thinks they had only been hurting me through words. It is now that I realize I had left some things out when we had been in the entry way.

It is _now_ that I realize she somehow knows me better than I know myself.

I can feel the panic begin to swirl inside my chest, and my mind begins to race with the possible outcomes. And now, it must be showing on my face because she's suddenly frowning, staring at me for a second, scrutinizing me, continuing quietly.

"You're not telling me everything."

I'm on my knees in a second, hands clasped behind me and I keep my eyes on the carpet-covered floor between where Her feet are in front of me.

It's quiet again and I _listen_ to Her being absolutely quiet and I realize that my thoughts aren't making any sense in this moment. All I know is that I want, I _need_ to beg Her for Her forgiveness, forgiveness for not telling Her, forgiveness for-

There's a knock on the closed door, a warning knock, and it opens revealing Brittany poking her head through to look at us before pushing it all the way open.

"Santana wants to know if we're ever going to eat?" she asks Quinn, her voice uncharacteristically soft; she waits in the doorway for an answer, taking in the sight of me and Her.

"We'll be down in a few minutes, Brittany." Her voice is quiet, carefully controlled. Brittany must nod because the sound of her footsteps back down the hall and stairs is the only thing I hear in the next few moments that pass.

"Up."

I stand, breathing deeply, still standing a few feet from Her, waiting, listening, my hands still behind my back, eyes never leaving the ground.

"I had only wanted to know why you never told them about her," She starts, stepping closer to me. "Only to find out that you aren't even telling me the whole story." She pauses, watching me, letting me catch my breath, letting me compose myself and then,

"I'm disappointed."

There's a twisting in my stomach, in my chest, when she says those words. I close my eyes. I take a shaky breath, let it out, in again, and then out.

She watches me and I shake my head slightly, willing the tears away. I open my eyes, letting tears fall anyway, I shake my head again, another shaky breath in, and back out.

"Rachel, I am disappointed in you," the tears fall faster, and I choke back a sob, listening to her still, "because I need _you_ to know that I know you're better than this; better than hiding things from your family and from me. I need you to be better than that, Rachel. I know you're better than that."

She pauses, watching me, patiently waiting-

I nod in response, my eyes staring down at the ground again, and the sobs come from deep inside me in the next moment. I cry and the sounds seem to come straight from that feeling that had come from two words. My eyes are shut and I'm sobbing and I feel the pain in my chest slowly grow with each shaky breath I inhale. I can feel Her eyes on me, watching me, but She doesn't try to comfort me. I want to reach out and wrap my arms around Her waist, only I don't because I don't deserve that.

I don't deserve the comfort of Her touch- because She is disappointed in me. She is disappointed and I still haven't told Her about what had really been going on yet. She is still waiting and I finally take another shaky breath in and back out before I nod once, twice, again and again until She speaks.

"Say it, Rachel. Tell me right now that you know you're better than lying. Tell me that you know you're better, and I want you to promise me you're not going to lie about what really happens from now on."

It's a command, it's a command and I'm trying to calm myself down but it's hard when I know She is disappointed and it's because of me and I take another shaky breath in and out and again.

She waits, and watches me.

Shakily, I lower myself back down to the ground with my eyes closed and head bowed towards the ground. The position is familiar, and familiarity is the only comfort I know I will get in this moment. I catch my breath, the sobs subsiding but the pain in my chest is still heavy. She watches and waits and I finally open my eyes and raise my head slightly.

"Master," my voice is rough, and I audibly swallow before continuing, "I'm sorry. I-I'm better than lying, and I-"

I take a shaky breath, nodding to myself, and Her eyes are still watching me.

"I promise," my voice is stronger, "I won't lie about what will happen, I didn't mean to disappoint you. I'm so, so sorry." I finish, and my voice pleading for her to forgive me; then comes the waiting, still staring at the ground.

Her hand is in my hair a moment later and I can't stop the whimper that comes out at the feeling of Her tugging roughly, forcing me to look up and into Her eyes.

"I forgive you, girl." She says, loosening the grip She has on my hair slightly, "You're better than lying, and I _forgive_ you for today; for everything that has happened today."

Her grip tightens again, and She tugs roughly once more, making sure She has all my attention before she continues.

"Mine."

Her nails are digging into my scalp and I whimper at the familiar feeling of Her hand in my hair and that feeling of being Hers.

"Got it?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good."

She's quiet for a moment and I don't take my eyes away from Hers after She lets go of my hair and kneels down next to me. "We're going to have to talk about everything tomorrow, because we need to get back downstairs. Let's just enjoy the rest of tonight, okay?" I nod, knowing tomorrow's conversation was going to be another challenge, but also knowing that just now had been the most difficult part; now, no more secrets.

It was knowing that she knew me better than I knew myself, and knowing she could be disappointed in me and that it physically pained me- it completely terrified me to a whole different level. Only, it was _also_ knowing she could forgive me that eased my fears.

"Rachel Berry," She sighs, as her hand reaches up to gently brush a strand of hair out of my face. "You are mine," She smiles and the pain that had settled in my chest earlier begins to fade when she leans forward to press her forehead against mine, "and you are beautiful."

I close my eyes, wanting to remember this moment. I breathe in deeply and smile as the faint smell of her coconut shampoo fills my nose; I listen to the muffled sound of people still downstairs whom are waiting for us; the faint saltiness from the tears that I had cried earlier are on my tongue from when I had licked my lips. I lean into her hand that is gently cupping my cheek, letting myself feel her warm hand touching my face as her thumb gently begins to run back and forth across my skin; I get lost in the feel of her skin on mine, then am suddenly stunned at the warmth of her breath against my lips and

_Oh._


End file.
